The Music Of Love
by KrauseMouse
Summary: Jack Kelly meets a Newsie-GIRL(!), Melody, in pre-strike days...


The Music Of Love  
  
Melody's eyes fluttered open as she felt the morning breeze caress her face. She  
  
groaned as she rolled over and attempted to return to her dream... so pleasant, so far  
  
away, so...  
  
"Rats... Morning." Melody muttered as she sat up. She looked around sleepily and then swung her legs over the edge of the small park bench where she had spent the night.  
  
She yawned, then stood up to stretch herself out and readjust her tattered knickers.  
  
"Well, if I'm gonna sleep in a real bed tonight, I've gotta make some money  
  
today. So, I'd better get a move on." She said cheerfully, yet realistically, to herself. "I don't want no bulls findin' me here an' bringin' me back home, that's for sure."   
  
Melody grabbed her cap out of her pocket and placed it on her head. She liked the freedom of wearing boys' clothes. They suited her adventurous new lifestyle better as well. Luckily her mother had kept her older brother's clothes after he died. No. Better to keep those thoughts out of her mind for now.  
  
Melody grasped her 50 cents tightly as she walked into Newsie Square.  
  
"Should I spend it all? Buy 100 papes?" She pondered. "I can't sell all those  
  
without even a day's experience..." She argued with herself like that all the way up to the gates of the World building. She then made her way through the line of Newsies up to a window where a gruff looking man sneered at her and barked,   
  
"How many?!" Melody was frozen. Suddenly, Wiesel realized that this was no ordinary newsboy, but a newsGIRL! He licked his hand and ran it through his greasy hair.  
  
Assuming an air of feigned politeness, he continued. "Pardon me, ma'am, I had no idea..."  
  
He then quickly grabbed her hand through the window and lowered his head to plant a  
  
sloppy kiss on it. Melody snatched her hand back as she came to her senses.  
  
"100 papes," she said harshly, "please... Mr...?" she said in the same false manners as Wiesel had to her earlier.  
  
"Wiesel." The repulsive man drawled as he seemed to undress her with his eyes.  
  
"How absolutely disgusting," she thought, "I don't know if I can deal with HIM  
  
every day..."  
  
"Weas-el." A voice from the crowd of newsies behind her called out. A handsome  
  
newsie about Melody's age sauntered out of the crowd, walked right up to her and placed his arm around her shoulder. "His name is Weasel." The boy smirked.  
  
"It's WIESEL! Ooh, you make me so mad! Damn you, Jack Kelly!" Wiesel yelled,  
  
turning a bright shade of red.  
  
"Yer not botherin' this lovely young lady, now are ya, Weas?" Jack scolded.  
  
Wiesel just shot Jack a look that would freeze a lesser Newsboy in his tracks. "Stop  
  
makin' faces at me an' get her papes for her, will ya?" Jack taunted.  
  
"I'll get you someday, Kelly. You little rat." Wiesel threatened. He turned around  
  
and one of the slimy DeLancy brothers handed him a stack of 100 newspapers. He turned back to the window and tossed the papers out at Jack. "There. There are her stinkin' papes, now get oudda here!" He yelled.   
  
"C'mon, pretty lady, let's get going." Jack chuckled. He handed the stack of papes to Melody who groaned at the sight of all the newspapers.  
  
"Ugh. I'll never sell these. What a waste of money." She threw the papers in her  
  
bag, turned on her heels and started off towards Newsie Square.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Jack called, "I just kept dat lusty weasel ov a man from slobberin' all  
  
over ya! Don't I get anything in return?"  
  
Melody turned back to face the boy. She gave him her sweetest grin.   
  
"I didn't ask fer yer help, ya know. I can take care of myself." She started off again, but felt guilty. He had helped her out. She turned around again. "Thank you. Jack, was it?" She smiled, and he grinned at her as she walked back to his side. They started off together into the city. "What do you think I have to offer you, anyway?" She asked him.  
  
"Nuthin' I guess. Just the pleasure of havin' yer company today. You wanna join  
  
me? C'mon... sell with me, just fer today... I promise, it'll be fun! And if not, I'll neva  
  
bodda you again." Jack offered. Melody smiled.  
  
"Okay, just fer today." She teased.  
  
They spent the day laughing and running around. They sold all of their papes in  
  
record time, and raced down to the pier all the way in Brooklyn. As they made their way back to Newsie Square, dusk was falling. *  
  
"Ya know, we've been togedder all day, and I still don't even know yer name,  
  
Sweetie." Jack placed his arm around Melody's shoulder. She coyly pulled away and took a grand bow in front of him.  
  
"I'm Steph. Stephanie, actually, but all da guys I know jus' call me, 'Sweetie,'" she  
  
said, jokingly. Jack looked at her with a huge grin. "Ev'ryone else calls me 'Melody.'" She smiled right back at him, but even she had to look away when he looked into her eyes.  
  
"An why'szat?" He prodded.  
  
"Cuz I love music." Melody started to tell him her dream. "Someday, I'm gonna be  
  
a famous singah... I'm gonna be on da stages of Broadway, and I won't hafta sell these stinkin' papes, just ta keep me off da streets, an' food in my mouth, an'..."  
  
"Easy, easy," Jack interjected with a chuckle, "I just asked ya why dey call ya  
  
Melody, insteada Steph, I mean."  
  
"Sorry, it's easy for me ta get carried away." She blushed. Melody looked up, only to find herself staring right into Jack's handsome face. She gazed into his eyes, becoming lost. Could she really be falling in LOVE with a boy she had met just hours ago? But it was his personality, his free spirit. He was unlike any other boy she had ever known. It was because of his dreams. Like hers. So out of reach, and yet so real that she knew he could feel its closeness, like she could feel her own dream coming closer to reality.  
  
"I said, 'that's ok, I know what that's like.' Hey, anyone in there?" Jack  
  
questioned.  
  
"Oh, um, I'm sorry," Melody gasped, she tried to find words, but was lost. "I, uh...  
  
Do ya want to go somewheres? We've just been walking around in da streets fer a long time. Ya wanna go to Tibby's or sumthin'?"  
  
"Sure, why not. My treat. I made more than you anyways..." Jack joked. Melody  
  
gave him a punch on the shoulder. They both laughed as they darted off through the  
  
streets. As they neared the restraunt, they stopped racing and quitely walked together in the shadows of the evening.  
  
"Ya know, 'Mel,' I really think dat we could make a great team," Jack mused.  
  
Melody couldn't believe her ears. Her heart started to beat quickly at the thought of more days like the one she had just had with Jack.  
  
"You, I mean, ya really think so?" She said eagerly as a gleam of happiness entered her lovely blue eyes.  
  
"Of course!" He replied, "I know everythin' there is ta know about sellin' papes!"  
  
Melody's heart sank. He smiled as he suddenly stopped walking and pulled Melody aside. They silently sat down on the edge of a fountain that happened to be nearby, and Jack took her hands in his. "Besides," he said quietly as he noticed the change in her mood, "havin' the prettiest girl in all of New York sellin' with me has gotta bring in some nice profits..." Melody beamed.  
  
Jack looked at her for a moment, then slowly drew her close in his arms. She  
  
looked up at him, then smiled again and wrapped her arms around his waist. He leaned in close, tentatively, and kissed her, a sweet, soft kiss that Melody wished would last forever.  
  
When their lips finally parted, they looked at each other, and in that instant they became  
  
much more than just selling partners. As she looked into his eyes this time, she didn't look away. She saw a tenderness in his eyes that made her heart melt, and her doubts disappear.   
  
"Perhaps there is such a thing as true love," she thought, joyfully. They grinned at  
  
each other and kissed again. This time, longer, and even sweeter. Following this kiss, Jack placed his cowboy hat on his head, lept up onto a nearby crate and let out a "Yee haw!" Melody began to laugh, then she held her hand out to Jack. He jumped to the ground, took her hand, and they both continued on to Tibby's, laughing and talking excitedly. Melody was content for the first time since she had lost her family. 


End file.
